Orlando Unplugged: Life In Living Color
Unplugging (our opinion on) SeaWorld's NEW Penguin Trek
What if you could turn a trip to SeaWorld into an adventure filled with roller coasters, dolphin encounters, and delicious food? Join us in this high-energy episode of Orlando Unplugged, where despite Ashley's bout with allergies (possibly the flu), we keep the excitement alive with witty banter and stories from our jam-packed schedules. From celebrating Ashley's birthday to upcoming trips to CreepyCon and a coaster adventure, we share our latest food obsessions, including Crumble Cookies and Knoxville favorites like Cookout and Osaka Japanese Grill.
What if you could turn a trip to SeaWorld into an adventure filled with roller coasters, dolphin encounters, and delicious food? Join us in this high-energy episode of Orlando Unplugged, where despite Ashley's bout with allergies (possibly the flu), we keep the excitement alive with witty banter and stories from our jam-packed schedules. From celebrating Ashley's birthday to upcoming trips to CreepyCon and a coaster adventure, we share our latest food obsessions, including Crumble Cookies and Knoxville favorites like Cookout and Osaka Japanese Grill.
contains information about universal becoming social media account holders. You're listening to orlando unplugged, celebrating life in living color with dustin and ashley. Grab a cocktail or a mocktail and let's get Unplugged. Orlando. What's up Unplugged, fam? I'm Dustin.
Speaker 2:And I'm Ashley.
Speaker 1:And welcome back to the actual 27th episode of.
Speaker 2:Orlando Unplugged Podcast.
Speaker 1:How you doing over there, ashley. You sound a little stuffy. I'm very sick. Are those summertime allergies hitting you strong? I don't think it's allergies, I think it's allergies.
Speaker 2:You sound like this all the time.
Speaker 1:I don't sound like this all the time you say you have a cold every two weeks.
Speaker 2:Because I feel like I have a cold every two weeks.
Speaker 1:That's probably allergies. To be fair, though, I don't think this is allergies, but there's a couple people in my office that have tested positive for the flu so, and you're gonna sit in the same room as me two weeks a week, exactly one week before we're supposed to get on a plane. You're gonna get me sick, yep how dare you?
Speaker 2:I warned you ahead of time you are an evil, evil human you know it. Listen. Can we? Can we at least?
Speaker 1:you didn't tell me about the flu until literally right now. You said I think I have a cold.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, now I have the flu.
Speaker 1:Well.
Speaker 2:Can we at least like can I get through my birthday before we get through a trip, please, because this week is going to be hectic, and then next week is going to be hectic, and then the week after that is going to be hectic, and then I get a break.
Speaker 1:Well, that is your own doing. You have created that own monster.
Speaker 2:No, you well. My parents created the first monster having my birthday be. You know this. And then you created the second monster by dragging me to CreepyCon.
Speaker 1:And then I didn't drag you. You're going willingly.
Speaker 2:And then I can't say the boys, because Jules is in it too, but everybody else dragged me to the coaster trip. So You'll be all right, I'll die, it's fine.
Speaker 1:Hey, hey, what. What are we snacking on right now in that delicious pink box?
Speaker 2:Crumble cookies because it's my birthday week Calories don't count.
Speaker 1:Do you know? For the longest time I refused to go to Crumble because it was like the hype is so dumb, this is so stupid and I had it and now I'm obsessed with it and I want the crumble cookie all the time are you serious?
Speaker 2:what's your favorite crumble cookie you've had so far?
Speaker 1:uh, it's that the golden oreo that I had last week golden oreo has that. The first time you went was last week with me um, I think I might have had a crumble cookie before, but it was not warm, it was like cold. It had been like several hours old and it was something with a weird like compote on top that I was just not there for so it doesn't count.
Speaker 2:So last week was your first time with me. I didn't know that if I would have known that we would have made it more of a big deal, yeah but tonight we had chipotle, yes, we did.
Speaker 1:Chipotle is life and crumble cookie for dessert. I love crumble cookie.
Speaker 2:It was really good. Yeah, I think this week's my favorite is the confetti one and the Sticker Doodle Cupcake. Those two are tied for first place for me, but my overall favorite Crumble Cookie is the Red Velvet Cookie.
Speaker 1:I've not had that one. Oh, it comes around like.
Speaker 2:Christmas time. Oh that, and the pumpkin cupcake.
Speaker 1:Do you know what I'm super excited for about next? Week cookout, so yeah, so when we travel back up to knoxville, there's several things that they have there that we don't have here in florida, one of which being cookout, which we are getting a cookout in florida, but it's going to be in tampa, not here um, we'll be osaka osaka japanese grill, which is the restaurant that I worked at out of high school. My friend's parents owned it.
Speaker 2:I just love their fried rice.
Speaker 1:It's so good.
Speaker 2:And their shrimp sauce.
Speaker 1:They have the best shrimp sauce, or yum yum sauce, whatever you call it, they have the best of any place ever.
Speaker 2:And their tea was good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, their tea hot green tea.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:And then we're going to have some coffee and chocolate, coffee and chocolate, coffee and chocolate.
Speaker 2:I'm so, so ready for that and uh, some vienna coffee house.
Speaker 1:So I cannot wait.
Speaker 2:I'm so excited. I'm so excited to see everybody I know I'll.
Speaker 1:For the record, I will link all of the uh websites for those food locations. Well like for vienna and um coffee and chocolate. I'll link those under our facebook so you guys can like check it out.
Speaker 2:I know that coffee and chocolate you could get their chocolate delivered to you you can I need to do that. I need, I need to like get that delivered to me every day. It's so good they're a little like to me, like you need tea right now probably, but they're little dark chocolate squares with their little sea salt on top of it. Are we going back to our candy store again, where we're gonna get 12 pounds of candy?
Speaker 2:oh, the, the fizz, fizz pop something, something on market square, the one across the street from alice in wonderland alice in appalachia. Yeah that, yeah, we can go there oh, we could go there too, you know the convention's just right down the block from there I know, know it is, we could just walk, it'll be great, but okay.
Speaker 1:So we have an interesting episode planned for you guys today. We're going to tell you a little bit about our SeaWorld adventures and the new Penguin Trek ride that just recently came open Spoilers they're not all great opinions. And then there was something else we were going to talk about. Oh, um, there was something else we were going to talk about. Uh, oh yeah, we might touch base just a little bit on the whole joe biden dropping from the race and the donald trump assassination, if we have time will depend, because, you know, politics are not our number one, but we do definitely think that these are things. They're going to shape our, uh, history books moving forward so shape something yeah, um and all that jazz.
Speaker 1:But before we do that, we're gonna jump in and we're gonna tell you, uh, about our fun visit back to bar 17 on the rooftop of aventura are you ready?
Speaker 1:oh, give me another glass, let's go so this week, ashley and I made the decision that we were going to swing by uh, our new kind of favorite bar spot here, just right down the road from the house, which is bar 17 on the rooftop of the aventura resort at universal um. We talked about that last week. So if you're just joining us, or this is the first time you're ever hearing our podcast, first off, go back 27 episodes and listen from the beginning.
Speaker 2:You loser.
Speaker 1:But we talk about Aventura and all of that in last week's episode. So yeah, Ashley.
Speaker 2:Dusty.
Speaker 1:Go.
Speaker 2:What do you got to?
Speaker 1:say about Aventura. You're the one that wanted to go specifically to Aventura the one that wanted to go specifically to aventura.
Speaker 2:So I like this bar, I think it's, it's, it's. So we, we dabble between we we always used to go to our beauty and the beast bar, the enchanted rose, over at the grand floridian we just haven't.
Speaker 1:We haven't been to disney in a minute I know it's been kind of nice, um.
Speaker 2:So we, you know, typically try to do that once a month. We sit and we, you know, gossip and we chat and we play catch up and we, you know, discuss podcast stuff or we discuss just life in general, and it's nice just to kind of get away from everybody else in the group and we just kind of separate and have a good time. So this time I don't know, like when you and I sat at that bar last week, I was just kind of like I want to do this this again and I'm so glad we did. It was such a blast, it was a good day, it was windy as shit it was.
Speaker 2:It was super windy oh my god, it was so windy.
Speaker 1:I'll have to actually, bruce is trying to get out and he's blocked. She's blocked in.
Speaker 2:Are you trying to leave?
Speaker 1:um, yeah, it was super windy that day. Um, it was actually. I got off work and you wanted to go there, so I was trying to like go home and change and grab what I needed to do and get some things and come back, but it had stormed some and I wasn't sure if we were going to make it. Fortunately, the weather held out and we were able to stay doing what we were doing and go there, which was really nice, but it was very windy.
Speaker 2:It was so windy, Like disgustingly windy I need to start always having a claw clip on me at all times because, like it was nastily windy.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, that's right, because you didn't have anything to hold your hair back.
Speaker 2:No, I had nothing, but no, it was good. I like, like, every service we've ever gotten from them has been super good. I got, of course, a glass of Sauvignon Blanc good um. I got, of course, a glass of sevillon blanc because you're a basic white girl and that's all you ever drink. Listen, I have two moods. It's either bud light and tequila or sevillon blanc. There is no in between.
Speaker 2:That's how it goes, okay I got a foggy sunrise this time that thing was very good, though I did try that after you while you were.
Speaker 1:It had um patrone silver tequila, lemon juice, pineapple juice and I'm a slut for some pineapple juice uh, cream of coconut and grapefruit juice and it was actually like really good do you know what you're gonna have to try the next time we go to sloppy?
Speaker 2:what I just had a shot of tequila with a pineapple juice pick like back, I want to say pickleback I don't do.
Speaker 1:I don't do shots, I just I don't.
Speaker 2:That's not something I do oh no, but you're gonna have to be a shop boy. No, and try that, because it was delightful that's not gonna happen.
Speaker 1:When you get to be my age, shots will literally put you in a nursing home.
Speaker 2:You are like two years older, older than me exactly.
Speaker 1:You've got two more years to enjoy the shots, while you still can.
Speaker 2:I don't want to to talk about it. Okay, we also were kind of snacky and I am a big advocate for girl dinner.
Speaker 1:What was your girl dinner?
Speaker 2:We got Brussels sprouts and French fries.
Speaker 1:No, we got roasted Brussels sprouts and truffle fries. You have to say it fancy like we're fancy people.
Speaker 2:Well, they were flash fried. Brussels sprouts, they were deep fried. Those are good. I do not understand truffle fries. I've had them from Enchanted Rose.
Speaker 1:I've had them from there. I've had them from Cowfish. They're just fries with some like Parmesan cheese, like grated on top of them and you dip them in a sauce which that's where you get the truffle part which that's where you get the uh, the truffle part. But the thing that annoys me is that dipping sauce is very, very hit or miss.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I like. I definitely like the one at enchanted rose more than the one at at um bistro 17 bar 17 bar 17. No, is it? I thought it's bistro 17 it's bar 17 oh, I definitely wrote bistro. My bad, it's bar but that's fine.
Speaker 1:Um, but no, I are. You are you fact checking if it's bar bistro?
Speaker 2:because now you've got me wondering it is, it's bar b it's bar 17 bistro okay, so it's bar 17 is. I saw bistro and went oh, it's bistro 17. You know what it is? It's because my hotel's restaurants one of my hotel restaurants is a bistro.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've got the. I have to apologize I'm with the twist, I'm gonna sound weird because like I'm talking but like I have not, like I guess it's indigestion from the chipotle that I've had and I keep getting like the hiccups and the burps. So so I'm like halfway through my sentence.
Speaker 2:We're doing great. You are just throwing up Chipotle and I sound like. I've got something stuck in my throat.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is what it is, hi Bruce. Welcome back. We're recording in Ashley's bedroom floor tonight because we were like we need to try to stay focused and not get interrupted by everyone.
Speaker 2:And I love because we were like we need to try to stay focused and not get interrupted by everyone. And I love that because we're in our room tonight, in our room. Are you staying here?
Speaker 1:yeah, okay, this is my house now, I figure. Um, now that we're in your room as friends? Um, we won't. Ashley refuses to close the door because she wants bruce to be able to come in and out. Um, so today is the day that, like all of the noise is happening in this house, in the kitchen pots, pans, dishes, cooking, all sorts of noises.
Speaker 1:Um, so I love how we did that, but we pay for a nice editing software that, hopefully, is going to edit out all that background noise. So you guys are going to be like why are they going on a tangent? Because it's silent.
Speaker 2:Hey, do you know what, speaking of Bruce, do you know what era she's in now? Sleep with her mom era? Oh, yeah, yeah, she's been like like obviously I didn't, I didn't go to the office today and I left really early yesterday from the office and I took a nap.
Speaker 1:I've literally been asleep since like noon of yesterday until today and she slept with me the whole day I let my roommates dogs sleep with me yesterday because my roommates have been out of town for like a week and a half now for, uh, they're on a business trip, uh, they're doing some fabrication for a haunted house and, um, the boy dog, he was up there for like 30 minutes and he was like you know what, I don't think I want to do this anymore. So he got down and went away. But jemma, their girl dog, she can't jump up and down from that height. So I was like, uh-uh, I'm asleep, you stay in.
Speaker 1:Which she was fine. She like rolled over on her back and she had, like her feet, like you know, the cartoon of the dead dog, where their feet are straight up in the air.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:That was literally this dog all night long. And then she would get up and she would walk to the other corner of the bed and then she'd lay right back down, feet straight up in the air.
Speaker 2:I'm dead.
Speaker 1:But this morning it was like 545 and Joseph Dan, which is the boy dog, starts like I can hear him crying and I'm like you have to wake me up early, because I know that if he starts making that noise early in the morning it's because he has to go to the bathroom. So I was like, okay. So then I got up and I'm still like asleep, my eyes are still closed. And then I'm like oh great, I got to get Gemma down off the bed because she can't jump at like 545 in the morning. I'm exhausted and I'm like come here. She didn't want to get up at first, so she nip noodled in the bed, not letting me pick her up, and I was like girl, I am gonna take you outside and let you go to the bathroom and if you miss this opportunity, I'm going back to bed for two hours and you're not gonna get to go back outside. And then she was like okay, you can pick me up. I said the magic words which were outside.
Speaker 1:And then she was like oh, okay, I'm awake I'm up, I'm up but it was nice to have a little, a little snuggle seshy with the animals.
Speaker 2:It's been so nice. I really like that.
Speaker 1:Speaking of animals.
Speaker 2:I want another one.
Speaker 1:We have an interesting episode planned today.
Speaker 2:We do have an interesting episode when we're going to talk about a theme park.
Speaker 1:That's all about animals.
Speaker 2:I can't wait.
Speaker 1:Are you super excited to talk about SeaWorld? Are you ready to?
Speaker 2:talk about SeaWorld. Here we go. All right, let's go all right.
Speaker 1:So we're pretty sure that most people out there know what sea world is. Um, you know, knowing the fact they have orlando san antonio. Um, do they have more or they just have the two?
Speaker 2:or they know, san antonio, san diego, williamsburg, and I think that's it okay, so there's, there's multiple of these but for those of you that don't know, oh, what?
Speaker 1:bush? Bush gardens, okay, um. So, for those of you that don't know, sea world orlando is an animal theme park. We have one located, obviously, here in orlando, florida. Uh, although it is, uh, separately gated, it's often promoted with neighboring parks such as discovery cove and aquatica, as well as bush gardens, tampa bay in florida, all of which are owned and operated by united parks and resorts. Now, in 2022, seaworld orlando hosted an estimated 4.45 million guests, ranking it the 10th most visited amusement park in the united states, and boy did they not let you forget that um, which is kind of funny everywhere because, um, we're gonna, we're gonna talk about that clientele here in a bit oh
Speaker 1:um, so sea world originally got its start as the animal park, it was the animal sanctuary, it was the animal show park. Um, and over time they have kind of shifted their um persona to be more about ocean rescue, uh, and ocean rehabilitation and roller coasters. One thing a lot of people don't know is that, um, sea world orlando actually is the roller coaster capital of Orlando, with a total of eight roller coasters Shocking, at least I think it's eight. It may be nine now with Penguin Trek, I'm not sure if that number has been updated. And then, ironically enough, with them being an ocean park.
Speaker 1:They only have two water rides, which I thought was interesting, but the park's broken down into several zones and sections. I have been to sea world, I think, three or four times my entire life. Um, I don't understand how the park works. I don't understand literally any of the theming. Um, that's very strange, but I think that's because I've not been invested in what the lore of sea world is, as I am with, like disney and universal and dollywood and all these other parks. Um, because to me it's just, it's an ocean animal park and that's all it is to me. What is, what is? How would you describe sea world? What is it to you?
Speaker 1:a zoo with a couple rides you know I've never seen oh, I know that's a lie.
Speaker 1:I was gonna say I've never seen a dolphin at sea world, and then I was like oh wait, they just saw them yep, you know, I was at sea world a couple months ago with jordan and we watched while this they were doing like an enrichment thing with these dolphins right at the entrance, across from the one where you hang on your stomach. Um, is it manta? Yeah, right across from manta there's like a little pool area that they're in and this dolphin was clearly agitated and they had toys in the water and it knocked one of the toys up into the air and then flipped and kicked it and the toy flew out and it pegged this kid, like knocked the kid to the ground, like skid the kid skidded across the sidewalk. That thing hit it so hard and I was just like and like, fortunately the kid was okay, but it was just one of those scenarios where, like, everyone just kind of froze because we were all like what just happened?
Speaker 1:it's kind of funny I mean it is that it isn't um. But you know, you know we've talked about sea world a little bit in the past and we were talking about the city beautiful and breaking down, like what theme parks there are here in this area, and we still want to do a full episode that is, like, solely devoted to just the history behind sea world, like we're, you know, doing with the history of disney world and universal and all those things. Um. But if you've only heard of sea world one time in your entire life, it's probably involving um, the incident from February of 2010, which included the death of one of their ambassadors, dawn Branch Show, which we touched on a little bit in the past. She was performing in the Dine with Shamu show when one of the killer whales, tilikum, pulled her into the water and she unfortunately passed away.
Speaker 1:We are, I think, glad to say that we've seen SeaWorld kind of pivot from that aspect. They no longer have their trainers or their ambassadors in the water with the animals. They're no longer breeding the killer whales. So we've definitely seen SeaWorld do like this big pivot and focus more on the theme park aspect. When they brought in um, what was that kids show? Uh, the whole.
Speaker 2:They have the whole land around the kids show sesame street, that's right um, we saw them bring that in, though what are you talking?
Speaker 1:I don't know, I never watched sesame street, so I'm just not sure? No, I had cable growing up it was the cable growing up it was on cable, I thought.
Speaker 2:Sesame Street was on like Channel 3, like the free channel. I don't know, I could have sworn it was on both.
Speaker 1:I don't know.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I watched Blue's Clues, I watched Nickelodeon. I mean, so did I? But I definitely still watch Sesame Street.
Speaker 1:So there is City. World has really been cranking out attractions recently.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think they're trying to compete. I think that's the thing with.
Speaker 1:SeaWorld. There's not a lot to compete with in this area.
Speaker 2:Universal. I think that's what they're trying to compete with.
Speaker 1:Well, there's a difference in theme park and roller coasters. And SeaWorld. They started cranking out attractions during the pandemic with Icebreaker, which took I think it was like three years for them to build, but they started on it right at the start of the pandemic and then construction started and stopped, and started and stopped throughout phases.
Speaker 2:I know I felt so bad for them.
Speaker 1:I finally got to ride it. I've ridden it one time.
Speaker 2:And you hate it.
Speaker 1:No fan finally got to ride it.
Speaker 2:I've ridden it one time and you hate it.
Speaker 1:No fan not a fan. Why do you hate it again? Um, so, with that and with pipeline, which was the second newest roller coaster that they've opened, which is a standing surfing coaster, um, they're really small, rides like small. They're fairly small roller coasters. They're built in very compact spaces yeah, which means they have a lot of really sharp turns um which provide or change their. They're not tiny by any means I mean in my opinion they're tiny roller coasters. I don't think they're tiny they're not very tall, they don't go very fast okay I mean their top speed's like 45 to 55 miles an hour.
Speaker 1:That's fairly slow, in my opinion, when you have lightning rod that runs at 73 oh god, tornado that runs at 70 15 minutes.
Speaker 1:We're already talking about dollywood 320 or 325 there you go I don't remember its top speed, but it's huge because it's a giga coaster, but anyways, um, they're very compact, so they have really sharp turns that provide positive G forces. I'm not a huge fan of positive G forces. That's what makes me like sick and nauseous nowadays. Um, I didn't used to be like this. This has been like the last five years of my life I've determined that I get sick on rides. Now, uh, and that is, that is pretty much what those all of their new rides are. Penguin Trek did not do it for me me but we also went a whopping like 43 miles an hour. We'll get there. What is your favorite ride at sea world?
Speaker 1:mexico what tell? Us about it scary is that the big one? Yeah, on the back end of the park that we didn't ride when we went last week yeah, that one's terrifying.
Speaker 2:it's, it's, it's not a, it's not a fam. I wouldn't count that as a family coaster.
Speaker 1:It's not a giga coaster. It's not big enough to be a giga coaster.
Speaker 2:I think so.
Speaker 1:Is it over 300 feet tall?
Speaker 2:I think it's like two something, three something, I don't know.
Speaker 1:I don't. No, it's only 200.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's not but you do go 73 miles per hour on that one. It is orlando's tallest and fastest roller coaster, though okay, what's the theme of it?
Speaker 1:exactly? It's based off of a shark okay, what's the theme of it exactly?
Speaker 2:it's based off of a shark. Okay, oh, that's literally it see what has the most bland like explanations when it comes to their, their hair. This is coming right off of the seaworld app. Are you ready? Go for it name for one of the ocean's fastest known sharks. This roller coaster speeds up to 73 miles per hour and up to 200 feet high. Search through shipwreck reef on orlando's tallest and fastest roller coaster oh, that's it that's it.
Speaker 2:See, well, does not like I don't know, like I feel like there's for me? I've always been a big fan of, like the storylines behind roller coasters, you know, like with manta, I really like the idea that you know I'm laying on my stomach. I am, you're supposed to be envisioning a? Um, what do you call it? A stingray, like I think that's really neat. Or like, up in cedar point, steal vengeance. I am stealing money. I'm part of a group of people that are that are being chased through a robbery of a gold mine wait, is it?
Speaker 1:is it interesting?
Speaker 2:okay, let's see so, like that, I've always enjoyed that because for me I feel like I can kind of like focus more on the story and less on the big terrifying roller coaster that I'm about to ride you know what I mean? Yeah, so where, with sea world, there really isn't a storyline like mako shark, I'm a giant shark so my favorite ride is journey to atlantis see that one kind of has a well storyline kind of kind of, but not as much anymore.
Speaker 1:So according to their website it says water ride enthusiasts are in for a thrill as this mythical paradise reveals its darker side this exciting flume ride.
Speaker 1:Slash roller coaster hybrid treats you to more than its share of surprises as you explore the dark, watery passageways through the sunken city before being flung from its gates down a thrilling plunge into the waters below. So if you go back and you watch videos of this ride a long time ago, it was really good. They had videos of this ride a long time ago, it was really good. They had amazing special effects. Uh, you walk through it now and you still see like I think it's like medusa's head or whatever it is. Um, but she doesn't work. She doesn't light up, she doesn't move, she doesn't do anything and my and the I never got to experience the ride during that Right, which makes me sad, but I do love a good water coaster hybrid type situation, which makes me really like this attraction. We didn't ride it last week because I didn't want to get wet at the end of my day.
Speaker 2:I was also kind of done with people after Penguin Trek.
Speaker 1:Yeah. You ready to talk about that. Let's talk about Penguin Trek trek. I was excited for this. I was ready to go. I thought it was going to be so much fun. Um, oh, wait, wait. Before we talk about that, we have to talk about what came first so chicken or the egg the egg. So in this case, the egg. So in 2013, SeaWorld opened the Empire of the Penguin.
Speaker 1:Oh yes, we had to talk about this first, this section of the park replaced the previous penguin encounter and it contained a trackless dark ride revolving around penguins, which closed in 2020. It was the world's first trackless dark ride, which I did not know I unfortunately, I unfortunately never got to experience the attraction, because the first time I ever went to sea world was, uh, during the pandemic, when everything, when the parks, had reopened, so that ride itself remained closed, but the penguin exhibit was still open did you do the penguin?
Speaker 1:exhibit. We did we walked in and we looked at the penguins.
Speaker 2:And it froze your butt off.
Speaker 1:Yep, and I was like, okay, it's cold. So then we left, because the only other penguin exhibit I've ever done has been at Ripley's Aquarium and the Smokies or the Knoxville Zoo, and both of them are African penguins. So it's hot, they're not cold penguins. And that was a very, very cold place, cold penguins. But so this new ride Penguin Trek actually takes place inside the building and outside of the original Penguin ride, empire of the Penguin. Is that what the ride was called, empire of the Penguin? Mm-hmm, no, mm-hmm, it contained a trek. I don't know if that actually was the name I don't think so.
Speaker 2:I don't think so what?
Speaker 1:regardless? There was a penguin dark ride there. Um, part of the roller coaster takes place inside that building and then the other half of it takes place outside. Um, so this area of the park has been closed since 2020. Uh, while they've been building this ride, um, kind of surprised that it took as long as it did to build this attraction, when it ended up being as small as it is.
Speaker 2:Um, when I've seen other parts, it was emperor empire of the penguin okay, so that's what the attraction was called. Yep, okay, okay or antarctica empire of the penguin gotcha okay oh, I didn't know that. Antarctica. So, yeah, empire of the Penguin.
Speaker 1:Penguin Trek. Tell us about it, Ashley.
Speaker 2:First off, let's start. Oh, you want me to read that thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, maybe let's let everyone know what we read and what we expected going in.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Any day Okay.
Speaker 2:I'm going to hurt you Now. This is a description that SeaWorld Online gives. Now, this will be the coolest research mission you'll ever join. Prepare for Penguin Trek, an unforgettable family launch coaster adventure through the breathtaking vast of Antarctica.
Speaker 1:Vastness Vastness of Antarctica.
Speaker 2:Board your snowmobile and race along with your expedition team at up to 43 miles per hour, navigating twists and turns and narrowly escaping the crumbling hazards of an icy cavern. Reach the end and you'll make the ultimate discovery a real penguin habitat. This new indoor slash outdoor family ride is the most immersive addition to the coaster capital of orlando and, with a height requirement of just 42 inches, it's just a perfect journey for the family to share. So that's a. Are we swearing in this episode?
Speaker 1:no, we are not okay. Well, that's a bunch of bull shirt you can tell someone's been watching the good place again. Yes, I have. Thank you, um. So walking back into that, so this whole area of the park has been closed since 2020. Uh, walking back in the outside of the area, everything looks really nice, everything's done really well. They had a gift shop area that, uh, across from the ride that we didn't go into, um, and some dining options that we didn't check out.
Speaker 1:No, no, the one, the one across the street from the ride we didn't check out.
Speaker 2:No, no, no. The one across the street from the ride.
Speaker 1:We didn't go to that one. Oh yeah, no, no. So we were super pumped. We had some friends that went and rode it. They were like, yeah, it's good, they're coaster people.
Speaker 2:So they were expecting you know, big and crazy and wild and that's not what SeaWorld produced of it's a good family edition which is that's what sea world wanted yeah, but that was the review I got from, like all of our coaster friends was it's a good family edition. You know, and I think that's the same thing that people say about um universals the minions shoot them up, beat them up. Gameem-up game was a good addition to a family attraction and I think this. I went in with that, thinking oh, this is going to be like barnstormer 3.0. This isn't first roller coaster vibes by any means disney's barnstormer.
Speaker 2:By the way, this is like a dollywood fire chaser I would say this is probably a little bit more extreme than fire chaser, though.
Speaker 1:Fire chaser goes faster.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I'm thinking with all the twists and the turns that this one had.
Speaker 1:Fire chaser launches you forwards and backwards. Okay, well.
Speaker 2:I'm gonna need you to hush. I was really disappointed with this one for a lot of reasons.
Speaker 1:Um well, let's, let's, let's get started with, like so, our entrance um, we had to walk through an extremely long outdoor queue um, that was empty, correct we made it into the door and like, as soon as we made it in, like it looks really nice, it looks crisp and clean and really cool and themed um well, no, even even looking at the details, like the first, the first, like 15 feet of us being in the building, it looked nice, they had the door.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was peeling no, not, not in the first 15 feet when we first walked in it looked really nice, we made it to the first board, like the overall viewing, which was which was a map of what the buildings look like, because we were, you're, in an antarctic base, yep? Um. So we walked in and the first like thing we walked up to looked really nice, but that's because there was no depth to it there wasn't stuff for people to touch, correct um.
Speaker 1:And then when we pass that and we get to the first, like there's racks with, uh, snow equipment on there and gear and things and people had already like scratched the paint off of the gear. They were sticking their hands through the grates and like already destroying things.
Speaker 2:The one with the sign that's across from there you could see they'd like, I think they went to like repaint it. And then there was like a, because I don't think the paint matched the original color that they wanted, so they painted a different color. But it was like peeling, like people were peeling off the paint. Yeah, they were peeling off the paint and you could see it because it was on the floor.
Speaker 1:And there was a window that they had stuck some like I'm assuming was like pictures or sticky notes and stuff too, but you could see where people had pulled it off. So just that layer of like. You know, when you go to pull like a price tag off of something and then you get that layer of sticky that stays there and then you get this like that layer of fuzzy on the sticky.
Speaker 1:That's what it was should we talk about the trash can too oh yeah and the kid that vomited in the queue the overflowing trash can, to the point of someone put their trash and this is not like a trash can that's hard to get to. No, like the people, there were several team members, employees, whatever they're called Ambassadors Ambassadors that were standing right at the door, which is the entrance to the ride.
Speaker 2:God, there was like what? Four of them or something, four of them.
Speaker 1:And this trash can is overflowing to the point of someone set a cup on it and then stuff like cascaded into the floor Fall stuff like cascaded into the floor and they never changed it. Um, so we get up to like the next window and it's interesting because they have all these things that are designed to look like windows and you're supposed to see like the silhouettes of equipment behind it, but it just looked like 90s cgi.
Speaker 2:It was really bad um, it's not impressive and then we get up to waiting in the queue forever yeah, the queue didn't.
Speaker 1:It was weird because it was labeled a 60 minute wait.
Speaker 1:Uh, the queue really didn't move like we would walk maybe four or five feet and then we would stand in the same spot for what felt like forever. It wasn't really because we ended up getting on the ride in what 40 minutes, 45, 45 but it felt like we would be spending like five to ten minutes at a time in one spot and then we would move, and then we would move again for five or ten minutes, um, but then we get up to the throw up. Oh god, so you have one girl. We get up there and they've got the like the chemical powder stuff on it and she's just standing there and she's standing there for like five minutes and then they come up with another can of this, the powder, the powder, which I don't understand why those cans were so tiny. They were waiting. We, we stood there for like 10 minutes waiting on them to clean it. One of the things that they were waiting on was another can of powder, but this kind of powder is like the same size of a can of hairspray.
Speaker 2:It was small, very small.
Speaker 1:So it took two full cans of that stuff for them to clean it up.
Speaker 2:It took up a lot. And then it was so potent, the snow was so potent.
Speaker 1:Yes, it took them a while to get it cleaned. It took them a while to get the materials needed.
Speaker 2:I felt the materials needed. I felt so bad too, because where this poor kid threw up was like in the middle of the walking queue, so you had to like suction, cup yourself to the wall not to step in.
Speaker 1:It was very everywhere. Yeah, they had. There was no ambassador on our side, like no one was on our side of the queue they were all in the fast lane and just standing over on that side and I was like, okay, that's fine, they didn't communicate with us so it was one of those like do I go, do I wait? What do you want me to do? Um?
Speaker 2:I just want to get away from the smell.
Speaker 1:It was so potent and you know, we, we did, we finally got past it and then we got into the I'm calling it the big room it's not that big of a room, but it's the switchbacks you had, like there was like one, two, three, four, five, six, seven I room but it's the switchbacks you had, like there was like one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. I think there was eight or nine switchbacks.
Speaker 2:Something like that.
Speaker 1:And they were probably 15 foot long.
Speaker 2:Yep, and this is also the same room that you merge with the quick queue.
Speaker 1:Quick queue that's what they call it, and that is why I think their line was taking so long because I was sitting here going the amount of times we're not moving, but then you could see where the quick cue ended and then I was like that's why we're not moving, because they don't know how to merge no so every time someone from quick cue would walk up, they would just automatically stop the regular line and let them go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it was like 15 people would go by and then they would let the regular line go and they'd get like three or four from the regular line and then someone else would walk up for quick use and then they would stop and then they would let the next five to six people that trickled in go and it was just one of those things where it was like that's not how this works and can we talk?
Speaker 1:like I understand sea world is a slower park, but can we talk about how you are debuting a brand new attraction? It's been open a week and you're already having it on your quick queue. That's unheard of?
Speaker 2:can we talk about the fact that they had a merged person but they did not have a grouper?
Speaker 1:so I. From my understanding that's fairly common for sea world attractions, they don't use a brand new one they had it on opening day.
Speaker 2:I heard, yeah, but one day you had a grouper for one day.
Speaker 1:That's the reason why that ride takes so long, because nobody knows what they're doing yeah, that was a thing we watched when we finally so we made it past the, the grouper, and then you have to go upstairs yes, a lot of stairs a lot of stairs um, and then?
Speaker 2:you are on a bridge on the ride, so the ride is underneath you think.
Speaker 1:Guardians of the galaxy at epcot very similar concept uh, then you go down the stairs and then you get. You pick your rows. We watched this. This lady in the row next to us oh, jesus christ so, okay, I'm gonna give some advice to everyone. Okay, when you are trying to ride an attraction and there's not a group here and you have multiple rows that you need for your ride, pick your rows pick them you get in your rows and then you stay there.
Speaker 1:You don't worry about how many people's in front of you or behind you, until the first person in your party makes it to the gate, if they are at the gate ahead of you.
Speaker 1:They turn around and look at the people and go hi, do you want to go in front of us? We're going with those people and if they say no, you go. Okay, you let that gate open and you just stand there, correct, because it is not your fault that the attraction they're not grouping you. But this woman was so panicked, three groups ahead, that she was like hollering at people and trying to move people and then it ended up. They ended up screwing up, like two other parties that were trying to ride together because they were so concerned with getting people in front of them that it just it screwed with everything.
Speaker 2:This is why I go back to that concept of having a grouper. You need to have one of them also. I mean that also screws up. I mean I this is the part where I get to sound like a nerdy. You know coaster enthusiast because I live with people who work for coasters and crap that you you listen to them talk about their, their full trains and their empty trains and stuff like this and making sure that they hit a certain number before they're going on. The amount of trains that we saw that were going past, that were not full none of them were because there's no grouper, so you're not filling up these things.
Speaker 2:This isn't a constant moving line, you're just oh, go ahead. And then the best part about that lady she couldn't even fit um so one thing to preface.
Speaker 1:What you were saying is so rides, they are what I call um red budget. Uh-huh, rides do not make money no so, when it comes to if an attraction is successful or not, what they do is they look at your capacity per hour to determine on if your attraction is making its money's worth for that day or not, if it's profitable. Correct. And when you are not grouping most attractions, do not do that, because there are so many empty seats and empty rows.
Speaker 1:Rows go empty because people are waiting to ride with their parties. Uh, and it's just a much smoother process. Now I will say I've always heard that sea world does groupers on fridays and saturdays, but that's it well, we're gonna have to test it out on fridays and saturdays. I do not want to go to sea world on a friday or saturday and we'll get into that after today or after that trip? I don't think I'm gonna see you with any time again, so let's talk about the ride okay, we're gonna talk about wait, wait.
Speaker 1:We have to talk about what it was like to get on the ride, because I had a pretty intense experience with that okay did you I walked over and I set her stuff in a bin and I sat down and pulled my restraint down how was it for you to sit in that seat? I mean it's a bucket seat, it's, it's a b&m bucket seat it was that ride. That ride was built by b&m right I think so yeah, I believe so too, because it was very much a wild eagle.
Speaker 2:That was a bucket seat it was so tight she's a hip hugger she was worse than a hip hugger and I think that the worst part about it is like okay, so if you're a theme park enthusiast, you will notice there's a screen that you can see that will show the rows of everybody on the ride and then, once it turns green, that means that they are, they passed a certain percentage and they can, they can fit inside.
Speaker 1:Means that their restraint is locked at the lowest position it has to be.
Speaker 2:Thank you. Sick brain's not letting me speak, so I looked back. Now I'm a big-hipped kind of girl, okay. So I look back and I'm like, okay, no, I'm good, I'm Gucci. It's real tight, but I'm fine. I've got this Cool, and I had heard reviews prior to this that this was a pretty tight seat and there was a lot of people that were around my size that were difficult sitting inside of it, like being able to fit. So I was like, no, I'm good, I'm good. The girl that came over to check my lap bar threw her entire weight up in my seat, like I was the girl two rows before or two, two trains before that couldn't fit in the ride, and I'm like, oh my god.
Speaker 1:And she dug that lap bar so far in me I had bruises so what you, what happened to you, is a, a phrase that we refer to in the industry called stapling. It's bull shark. Um, most theme parks will actually write up attendance for doing that.
Speaker 2:Good.
Speaker 1:Because when you staple someone in the seat, you are then putting excessive force on the restraint. Uh-huh. Which causes restraint failures.
Speaker 2:Correct.
Speaker 1:And I'm not saying that's going to happen to you in this situation because you were not in danger of your light not being green.
Speaker 2:No, but it creates a very uncomfortable ride it did and I had shorts on that day and it there's like where the seat is, like where the the the space between the seat and the lap, there's like a little like an indent, almost like I don't want to say like a, like a fork, but it kind of gives me fork vibes and it like dug into me like I got off and there was like two marks on my thighs where it was and I bruised for a couple days well that is we'll not be riding penguin trek again.
Speaker 1:That is what. So this? This brings up a very common debate in the industry of ride restraints need to be more accommodating to people of a larger size. But at the same time, as someone who has been a ride operator most of my adult life, I have to remind people if they make it more accommodating for larger guests, then children cannot ride it.
Speaker 2:True.
Speaker 1:This is a family attraction.
Speaker 1:No, I'm not saying Well no, no, no, I'm not saying that you are, but this is the point that I'm just trying to make for people to understand is, in order for a roller coaster to be accommodating as a family attraction for children which means larger adults are going to have more of an issue fitting into this restraint, because it has to hold the children in when it goes 90 degrees into a steep curve, and that's why I think they're seeing this issue with, uh, larger adults not being able to fit.
Speaker 2:And that's valid. However, I just did not. I think I would have been fine had she not stapled me in. It was so tight so when the ride actually got started though, oh my god we were so excited I was, it was really, it was so it looked so cool.
Speaker 1:The trains are so cute, they're snowmobiles and they make little snowmobile noises whenever the ride first starts and when it comes to an end.
Speaker 2:I thought it was adorable.
Speaker 1:And you go into this ice cavern and you round the corner and you just see this dark hole and it says danger.
Speaker 2:Falling ice.
Speaker 1:Yep, because you're gonna just fall into oblivion. And we rounded the corner and we dipped like two feet.
Speaker 2:I don't even feel like we dipped.
Speaker 1:We did, we went. It was a little hill, a little, just a little dippy. And when I say a little dippy, I'm not talking like Mystery Mine first drop plummet. No, I'm talking like speed bump, like we just went down.
Speaker 2:I don't even feel like we dipped, did we dip?
Speaker 1:We really dipped. We did a little baby dip and then we went around the corner and then we came to a complete stop and then when the last like two cars were going down the dip is when the sound effect and strobe lights went off and I was like you think that should have happened like as the front of the train approached it, so you couldn't see what you were getting ready to go into, because we just went into a black room there was no theming in that area.
Speaker 2:There was nothing in there Until you got next to the launch and then they had, like the, the rock opening yeah, and then I got hot and yeah and then it launched us out uh-huh, um on, and I mean that was a fun little ride segment.
Speaker 1:Uh, the outdoor section was nice, um it was. It had smooth turns, um, but there were a couple of like jolts which is so weird, it had been for two weeks we made it to the end of the second launch, so it's the one like.
Speaker 1:So it launched us out, we did a little bit and then we hit that launch where we went up the big turn yeah once we hit when we like, we approached the end of the launch and started to do the incline, it was almost like the train like slammed into the track because you could feel like the jolt as you started to go up and I was just like, oh jesus okay, and then you end the ride, you turn the corner and there's the load platform yep, and that was it um I feel like that whole thing lasted maybe a minute yeah, it felt like a very short ride it was was very short, very small.
Speaker 1:It is for, I think, children, I think, and family rides, which are the target audience for this attraction. I think that this is the absolute perfect attraction for SeaWorld to add. So children finally have an opportunity to ride a roller coaster with mom and dad and I think it's going to be fun for those children and for families. For a roller coaster enthusiast, it was a great credit.
Speaker 2:But that's Definitely got to have one of those.
Speaker 1:That's what it is. It is a credit that I still need to log in my LogRide app.
Speaker 2:It just was not, I don't know Like. I was very disappointed in that.
Speaker 1:It seemed when they unveiled it at IAAPapa and they unveiled the ride vehicle, um, they made. There was so much hype around this attraction that I I felt like we were gonna get a thrilling attraction that children would also enjoy. But what we got was a thrilling attraction for children yeah um, but like I said, I think, I think it's going to be great. I think parents are going to have that, that photograph with their children that photo took.
Speaker 1:That was the oddest photo ever. It took the photo at the very beginning of the attraction as the first launch was happening yeah, bad idea, but can we talk about how you exit that ride? Yes cold very cold.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you exit the ride, you get off and I don't remember if you go downstairs.
Speaker 1:No, I think it's just straight it's the little ramp yeah, it's a ramp, and then you go through the penguin exhibit well, you go through these really awkwardly long hallways with nothing in them because that's where the the ride was, and they would.
Speaker 1:They do have a section of the area where you can just go into the penguin exhibit without riding the ride. And as we were approaching the penguin exhibit, there were also random park guests coming in to go into the penguin exhibit and these teenagers in front of us were like, oh, let's exit this way. And they started to turn left to go where the people were coming from.
Speaker 1:And the ambassador was like no, you have to exit this way, you have to exit through the penguin exhibit yeah and I was like okay why don't we let the annoying teenagers that I wanted to punch in the face because they were tripping each other the entire time so we had to get into this tiny room and they had to close the door before they would open the other door to let us in do you know why they do that? So the penguins can't get out, uh-huh. And to keep the temperature regulated.
Speaker 2:Uh-huh, and it was cold.
Speaker 1:It was. Now it is the same penguin exhibit that it was originally from the original attraction, correct? And there was one fat I mean P-H-A-T. Penguin lounging on a rock.
Speaker 2:Can we talk about how?
Speaker 1:you didn't let me bring a penguin home with me. I didn't tell you you couldn't bring a penguin home with you I said, dusty, let's take a penguin home with you.
Speaker 2:Me, I want to put him in my bathtub.
Speaker 1:And you were like oh yeah or we could exit yeah, well, I don't think that the really tall, like seven foot tall guy working the exit door was gonna let you out of that place with a penguin he was kind of cute, though he might I don't know if I said pretty please, maybe he would have please please, can I have?
Speaker 2:a disgusting that was disgusting. Thank you, thank you so much.
Speaker 1:But yeah, when we finished up with that, we walked over to atlantis and we looked at it and we said let's go have a good night uh, we chose not to ride that ride, even though it was a walk-on at that point um, but publics.
Speaker 2:It was like eight o'clock.
Speaker 1:Bed sounded a lot better and I think the issue is sea world makes me this is gonna sound horrible, but sea world really makes me hate people so I've noticed something in the few times that I have been there and there is a stark difference in clientele at sea world and universal and disney 110 there's a stark difference in the ticket prices to those parks, I think, which brings a huge difference to the type of people that go to those parks. Um when at seaworld, I noticed a lot of unattended minors oh, so many uh, and at seaworld, and not just minor, like like.
Speaker 2:I'm not talking like 15, 16, 17 year olds, I'm talking like 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, like 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.
Speaker 1:And at Universal, you are allowed to be on the park without an adult at 13. Correct Now, when it comes to CityWalk, you are not allowed to be under the age of 18 after 8 pm, unless you have a hotel room key or a confirmed dining reservation at a restaurant. Otherwise you have to have a chaperone, Correct Now.
Speaker 2:That being said, See, we don't have that rule at all.
Speaker 1:It was chaos. There were just kids running and screaming everywhere. Those teenagers got on my last nerve while we were coming out of Penguin Trick. They were just so rude and disrespectful of other people's space, and I don't know if this is just because I'm getting old, but I don't think I was ever like that as a teenager no, my parents would have beat my butt.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, like if we acted like that, my dad would like he'd pull somebody by the hair and be like you're going to a car your day is now over. Congratulations for ruining everybody's day yeah like or he would have like tripped me and I would have fallen and he'd been like and this is why we don't screw around, yeah fork around and find out um, so I know, like I, I know this episode sounds like we're really harping on sea world and that's not our intent.
Speaker 1:Uh, we're not saying that, you know, sea world is a bad park or anything, because it's not it is a fun park.
Speaker 2:I have fun, but I think we have always said our podcast is a very honest one, regardless of you know what we do, whom we do, and and you know where we go to play or hang out or whatever we vowed to always be honest about our opinions, with everything, and I think sea world is a park that has moments where it shines. I think there are good things that we could say about SeaWorld, but I think this experience that we went through was just not it wasn't a positive one.
Speaker 1:Now, with that being said, to shine a little bit of light on SeaWorld and look at the good in that situation.
Speaker 2:Something's burning.
Speaker 1:I am glad that SeaWorld provides a theme park experience that some people are not going to get otherwise.
Speaker 2:No, and I think it's great that they they keep it at a price, minimal, that everybody can afford, because I don't think everybody can afford a $200 ticket to Universal right now. I don't think everybody can afford a $199.95 ticket to Animal Kingdom right now. I don't think everybody can afford a 199.95 dollar ticket to animal kingdom right now. So I think it's great that sea world allows families to still come together for a vacation. That is still fun and there's, you know, moments where there's good food.
Speaker 1:Well, you can go to sea world for what?
Speaker 2:50 bucks?
Speaker 1:50, but so a hundred dollars for two days. How much is their quick lane?
Speaker 2:like I think it's only in 60 okay 50 or 60 bucks.
Speaker 1:I know it's cheap at universal a two park. Two day park to park ticket with unlimited express is a thousand dollars that's that's crazy to me yeah, so well, and now?
Speaker 2:what is disney's? What did you see? That disney's genie plus service was like 17 dollars now uh, didn't they? They discontinued genie plus yeah, but what's their, their, their?
Speaker 1:the lightning lane lightning lane.
Speaker 2:It's like 15 or something per person well, it depends on the ride which is just crazy to me yeah, well, no, they have.
Speaker 1:They have a new thing. Maybe we should cover that in the podcast.
Speaker 2:They have a new, they have a new way, like you could.
Speaker 1:It's like a package deal so you can either do like individual rides per price or you pay like a premium and you get like one top tier ride, two middle tier rides and like, I think, all the lower.
Speaker 2:Something like that in an episode um go over all of the the changes at disney yeah, the lightning lane, and yeah, there, we can't do it next week's episode though, because that's my birthday episode, so we have to talk about bush oh yeah, that's right, that's right have you been to bush, is this your first time.
Speaker 1:This will be my first time going to bush, um, so another good thing to talk about for sea world is, um, the food. Actually, let's talk about the food. I know we're talking about penguin trick, but I want to talk about some good you know, our good sea world stuff, uh, and I've always heard that sea world has the best festival foods festival food 110.
Speaker 2:I will give you that. I think their festival food is outstanding, but I do not think their restaurant food is good I've never eaten in any of the restaurants. I've only ever had festival food and the bar okay, so sea world has two festivals that are my absolute under favorite. They have the one that's going on currently, which is their it's barbecue brews and something. Hang on.
Speaker 2:I don't remember what it's called, but I know it's barbie oh bands, brews and barbecue interesting so they do a whole bunch of different bands and stuff like that a different, a whole bunch of different beer and then a whole bunch of different beer and then a whole bunch of different barbecue options. But my favorite part about this is every single festival that SeaWorld does. They try to do local stuff. So it will only be like they have another festival during the fall time which is one of my favorites where they do it all a whole bunch of Florida local beers and crafters and things like that. It's so good, it's so good, it's so good.
Speaker 1:I'm trying to think of the what that one is called neat and nice at the same time.
Speaker 2:I love that for you, I love that for me too.
Speaker 1:I liked when I went. I went for Christmas. Um, and they had. They had some really nice Christmas snacks and everything and, uh, one of the cool things that sea world does that I don't see the other parks do is they give you, uh like festival food comps.
Speaker 1:so you like, if you have an annual pass there, you can get like a free ticket to bring a friend and then you can get a free festival food or discounts and things that um, like universal and disney don't do Like Universal does a like, if you buy a Premier Pass, you get like free valet parking and one ticket to HHN.
Speaker 2:The Seven Seas Food Festival.
Speaker 1:That's what it is.
Speaker 2:That's one of my. You're burning something.
Speaker 1:Okay, I love how we definitely were like let's go to our room so no one interrupts us.
Speaker 2:Today, well, zach knows that when anything starts burning in the house I start freaking out a little bit. So low-key.
Speaker 1:They've been in there making a ton of noise for the last half hour, so burning is my favorite, is the worst, um, but sea world's.
Speaker 2:My favorite one that sea world has is the seven seas food festival, because they have the best food I've ever eaten at that one. But I love their christmas celebration. That's fantastic. I have yet to do their halloween one. Well, at least the the hollow screen I've never done but I've done their, their spookala or spook spookular event I don't know.
Speaker 1:It's their kids event.
Speaker 2:And the best part about this kid event okay, is you go in and they give the kids each kid and adult a little baggie and then they can go trick-or-treating and you don't have to pay anything.
Speaker 1:Which is a wild concept to me, because I've been at theme parks where I've questioned that in the past. And they're like you know, we don't do that because it's a liability.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because you could give candy to a kid that can't have candy, or you can give them candy that blah, blah, blah and you know, you apparently can just run around sea world without a guardian?
Speaker 2:so don't care, okay, I think it's fantastic, um, but no, and so the bands, brews and barbecue. It goes on for january or, I'm sorry, july 6th to august 25th. So this is fantastic. They have 10 flavorful finds, um, for your bands, brews and barbecue adventures. Um, they also have. Let's see here. It is a premier summer long event at sea world where guests can enjoy live music, mouth-watering food and thirst questioning drinks during their visit. Um, it is not a separately ticketed event. Um, it's the end of the summer, so you can join it throughout the entire time and think of at like just it's just a festival yeah, but it's like a food and wine at epcot similar food and wine at epcot, or it's like bluegrass and barbecue at hollywood, correct?
Speaker 2:um, now there is a event, special menus, but you're that's available through your app, you can download or they have a full breakdown of it. Um, some of the good. I have a couple of the good things at the flamecraft brew do they have poutine? I believe so one of my favorite things though is they have a penguin soft pretzel in the shape of a penguin oh, that's cute he's adorable, but it does not come with green cheese.
Speaker 1:Um, um I want one of those green sour apple popsicles again that sounds so good.
Speaker 2:My favorite thing, though, is I actually did get to eat from here, um, because we all know that I don't eat meat. They had a vegan chili. It's a tofu, tomatoes, green peppers, garlic and cilantro, and it was so good.
Speaker 1:It was delightful, um I'm not a huge fan of cilantro they have grits.
Speaker 2:They also have a smoked pulled chicken on a biscuit and it made me think of you when I saw it.
Speaker 1:Um, they've got bloody marys. Why?
Speaker 2:did that make you think of me? Because you're sausage and biscuits sausage and biscuits uh-huh, they also have um a lone star hatch chili mac and cheese which looks very delightful um interesting.
Speaker 1:But yeah, guys, so that's I mean, that's sea world in a bit of our oh, this one was super weird what they have nachos that is made with cherry coke barbecue sauce it actually looks pretty good. I hate cherry Coke, so no.
Speaker 2:You really hate cherry Coke I hate cherry Coke.
Speaker 1:It's gross.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm trying to see if they have your poutine. They have the bourbon pecan pie with caramel. That looks pretty good.
Speaker 1:Oh, that does. Okay, that one sounds kind of interesting, but yeah, that's pretty much about it.
Speaker 2:That's not bad, no and they have the best thing at sea world what ignite still haven't seen it.
Speaker 1:Don't know how I feel about having a super loud, crazy show at a park that's full of animals and fire.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of fire. Yeah, like so much fire I feel like that's kind of not cool I think the animals are just kind of like they're like how I am during hhn season when I have to hear the time show next door to my house, which started this morning yeah, starting rehearsal at 8 am or sound testing.
Speaker 1:At least it was so loud.
Speaker 2:But yeah, no, just lots of fire, lots of fire. But the music is so good, so we'll have to check it out sometime.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're gonna have to watch it um, but yeah, guys, so that is, that was sea world that was penguin trek. Uh, I know there wasn't a whole lot to talk about there, but I mean at the end of the day it's not a super huge attraction.
Speaker 2:There's not a whole lot behind it it's also not a super huge park, so I think you could probably do it in a day oh, you can do it in a couple hours yeah but anyhow, but yeah, so we want to hear from you this week.
Speaker 1:Go ahead, click that link, you know the one in the description box, the one that you're pulling up on your phone right now, and so you're gonna start formulating that message while you listen? To the end of the episode do it uh click that link, send us a text and let us know have you ever been to any sea world ever?
Speaker 2:bush gardens and what?
Speaker 1:was what was that trip like? Did you like it, did you not like it?
Speaker 2:if you've never been to a sea world.
Speaker 1:What's your opinion on sea world? Do you like them? Do you not like them? I know there's a lot of controversy protesting outside a sea world well, I don't think I've seen anyone standing out there, but we didn't go through that entrance, where you do see them.
Speaker 2:So that's why? Oh, because they are out there every day I didn't know.
Speaker 1:There was two of them oh yeah interesting yep well yep yep it's, it's a blast.
Speaker 2:I want to be that person that doesn't have any sort of other life other than being able to protest outside of SeaWorld.
Speaker 1:Growing up as a kid, there was one person who would build these banners that would say shame on, and then they were like shame on Maryville College, shame on Blount Memorial Hospital, shame on McGee Tyson Airport. And he would just sit outside, whatever the entrance was, with his big sign and I never understood why. No one ever told me why airport and he would just sit outside, whatever the entrance was, with his big sign and I never understood why. No one ever told me why. But as an adult I think it had something to do with when these areas were being constructed. Um, they used illegal immigrants in their workforce, so he was shaming them for using illegal immigrants.
Speaker 2:I cannot confirm nor deny that that's actually what it was, but I have heard that that's what I just would love to be the person that doesn't have a single life or care, and it's okay with my own thoughts you do have a single life I know, but like I want to, I want to be the person that sits in a lawn chair that's okay with my own thoughts and that's all for today's episode in next week's episode, I will be by myself correct, because I'm gonna go hang out with the animals at bush yes, hey guys, do us a favor before, uh, you log off for the day or put that phone down.
Speaker 1:Please be sure that you comment, like, subscribe, share our podcast with your friends. We have almost 30 episodes out. We have four reviews on apple podcasts help us guys.
Speaker 2:We want to be cool get us out there.
Speaker 1:Let your friends know who we are. If you know someone that you think would be a fun guest on our podcast, or you know a business or anything that we should interview, please let us know. You can also use that text feature in the show to get in contact with us directly if you want to do that, but we need your help. We are technically a small business.
Speaker 1:We are business we are currently a business that's way in the red very, very in the red um, but yeah, we definitely want to do some things, pay our medical bills so I could get some allergy meds.
Speaker 2:We we want to be able to do some, definitely want to do some things. Help us pay our medical bills so I can get some allergy meds.
Speaker 1:We want to be able to do some more advertising and do some bigger things with the podcast, but in doing so we need to be able to grow our podcast so we can start monetizing our episodes and we can start spending some more money on advertising. So if you guys would help us out by organically helping us advertise, by sharing us with people you may know, uh, we would appreciate it yes, please that's all you had to say. I'm out here like begging for our lives and that's all you got that's it.
Speaker 2:You did all the begging for us.
Speaker 1:No need for two of us to sound pitiful and this is why this is why no one's gonna do it now. Ashley, what ashley meant to say she'd be extremely grateful.
Speaker 2:I really would thank you so much um, but yeah, you know what else I'd be grateful for? What is, if all of those listeners that we have, all? How many of them?
Speaker 1:a lot we've got. We. We do some like random numbers here and there, but we have like 30, something consecutive. They listen like within the first 48 hours the episodes out. So we thank you. First 48 law, Get it First 48. That's the most important amount of hours in a missing person case.
Speaker 2:Oh, my God, I'm done now. Thank you, I got to go eat cookies.
Speaker 1:Have fun oh okay, oh, she's back. No, I'm not now. Thank you, I gotta go eat cookies. Have fun. Oh Okay, oh, she's back. No, I'm not. Oh, I just came with you. She's still here.
Speaker 2:The first 48 hours.
Speaker 1:What were you saying about our 48 guests?
Speaker 2:I don't remember. I don't remember. Hey, it's my birthday in two days.
Speaker 1:Okay, bye. Hey, it's my birthday in two days. Okay, bye, and she's gonna be old I'm not gonna be old.
Speaker 2:I don't want to talk about it. I will be 28 years old ashley, what's one before we go?
Speaker 1:one piece of advice that you want to give our listeners today, any day now. I'm thinking crickets shut up.
Speaker 2:You're not old. You just need to find something fun to do with your friends. That's it. So do something fun. Take a deep breath, take an allergy pill, drink your water and go do something fun that's a lot more than one piece of advice well, that's my advice hydrate before you died right you definitely do that. Have find good friends, good people and do something fun. What's your advice?
Speaker 1:Hmm, if.
Speaker 2:Crickets.
Speaker 1:If no, I'm at least making noise. You made no noise, I went Exactly. Mine would be if there's something you want to do, like I don't know, getting out of your hometown, go Do it Explore, even if it doesn't like pan out the way. Getting out of your hometown, go Do it Explore, even if it doesn't like pan out the way that you hope for it to Do it anyways.
Speaker 1:And get out of your hometown and you'll very quickly find out that there are a lot of different people in this world and you very quickly realize you are not Home Well, not home, but like home, well, not home, but like I don't know. You realize that the way of life in your home is not the way of life everywhere else in the world.
Speaker 2:That's a valid statement and that is on point. Boom.
Speaker 1:So, guys, until next time.
Speaker 2:I think we're going to talk about your first time going to Bush.
Speaker 1:Way to ruin that outro.
Speaker 2:Well, I have to talk about some things first.
Speaker 1:All right, Next week Busch Gardens. And my birthday Until next time stay safe, stay educated.
Speaker 2:And, of course, share our podcast with your friends, your family. And maybe next week we'll have our favorite bartender.